New satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) systems provide exciting new means of communicating music and information to users. A SDARS system can transmit on the order of 100 or more digital audio radio channels, as well as ancillary data both related and unrelated to the audio programs. Thus, users are able to select from among over 100 channels from anywhere within the service area of the SDARS system, which can span areas the size of continents due t the size of one or more satellite spot beams.
However, with such exciting capabilities comes increased need for a user interface to make selecting program channels more user friendly. With over 100 channels available to choose from, a user may become overwhelmed with the number of choices with regard to channels and genre of channel content. Specifically, with a SDARS system comes a need for an advanced user interface to assist users in selecting channels. Such an advanced user interface will allow the user to select channels based on the category of information or music being transmitted, and to see what is playing on each channel in real-time so that the user is able to determine if a channel change is appropriate without the need to “surf” through the 100 plus channels one at a time, sampling each channel for a few seconds.
Also, in a SDARS system, channels may be added, dropped, or reassigned to new channel numbers by the programming center. With the increased number of channels available to a user, the difficulty for the user in remaining aware of all channel assignments is likewise increased. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a user interface which automatically handles channel reassignments, and the like, in such a manner that the user does not need to be aware that a reassignment occurred.